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SPARKS
ELECTRICAL NEWS
OCTOBER 2016
CONTRACTORS’
CORNER
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on the best way to proceed with the matter and ensure protection of
consumers who have been exposed to the counterfeit switches.”
Joint investigation
“Given the respective mandates and enabling legislation of the entities,
it was resolved that a joint investigation would be instituted.
“The outcomes of the investigation will guide the entities insofar as
appropriate remedial actions concerned. Accordingly, we [the two enti-
ties] will update the media when it is opportune to do so. As you may
know, we do not comment on investigations,” says Hattingh.
SAFEhouse
Two SAFEhouse members began independent investigations.
Rashid Moosa, director at Kensington Electrical Wholesalers
(KEW) sent out an email notification to clients on 10 August
informing them that sub-standard devices had been sold through
the company during 2012.
The email states: “As some years have passed since you bought
the products, they probably have been installed in buildings and it
may take some effort to identify their locations.
Because of the safety function the product is required to perform, we
urge you to make every possible effort to locate
the products and return them to us.”
Moosa offered to replace the devices with
genuine products that meet the required specifi-
cations at no charge to the customer. His email
to clients included the CBI poster that illustrates
the differences between genuine and counterfeit
devices. Moosa says KEW was assured by Khan
(the importer) that the products were “original”
and Khan had been paid in full for all the devices
bought by KEW. He says “a substantial” num-
ber of products were confiscated by authorities
in 2012. He says KEW then issued an “imme-
diate recall” on the units that had been sold
and subsequently returned about 4 800 units
to Khan.
In reply to questions from
Sparks Electrical
News
regarding the other SAFEhouse member,
Voltex, Pierre Nothard, chairman of the SAFEhouse
Association, says that Voltex has tried, without
success,to identify the transactions that implicated
one of their branches in court documents.
The company is nevertheless considering a
recall of products that may have been sold by
that branch.
Editor’s footnote:
Taking into consideration that nearly 124 000
unsafe circuit breakers and earth leakage
devices were imported between 2009 and
2012, there is an interesting correlation that
becomes apparent – which would have to be
proved scientifically – when one looks at the
‘dramatic increase’ in the number of fires listed
in the 2010 to 2013 fire statistics, released by
the Fire Protection Association of Southern
Africa. These were reported in the May 2016
issue of Sparks Electrical News under the
headline,
‘Burning issues for South Africa’s
electrical industry’
, which states:
“During 2010 and 2013, the number of fires
increased a dramatic 60% from 26 574 to
42 343. In the same period, there was a sharp rise
in the number of fatalities in fire-related incidents,
from 224 to 578 in 2013, more than double.”
The article continues:
Pierre Nothard, chair-
man of the SAFEhouse Association, believes
that, in South Africa, causes of electrical fires
also include sub-standard electrical products,
poor installation methods and the misuse of
electrical products.
‘Undetermined causes’
“While the FPASA statistics are not up-to-date,
it is clear that there are about 3 800 electri-
cal fires every year and, significantly, about
14 000 fires that are attributed to ‘undeter-
mined’ causes.
“I would say that some of these are very
likely to be electrical. What we don’t know
is to what extent the root causes are sub-
standard products, poor installation or misuse
of products,” says Nothard.
“A further look at the figures reveals that
– counter to general perception –
there were
81% more electrical fires occurring in ‘formal’
dwellings than in ‘informal’ ones.”
This is something that the NCC and NRCS
must take into consideration when deciding
whether or not to rescue a recall.
- Erika van Zyl
NCC AND NRCS LAUNCH JOINT INVESTIGATION
INTO UNSAFE
ELECTRICAL DEVICES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1